Good Interviewing Takes Time and Preparation
To at least some degree, I think everyone in a job interview is a bit of an actor.
No employer likes to admit in the interview that he yells at his crew
or expects them to work late to satisfy a customer. And job seekers
aren’t likely to mention the shortcuts they’ve taken to save time, or
maybe the long lunch they take on Fridays.
For the most part, the interviewer/interviewee relationship tends to accentuate the positives and gloss past the negative.
The information each party shares in the interview should give the
other party an accurate image of the qualifications, experience and
general work ethic or attitude he/she brings to the negotiating table.
As well, each party must be thorough and clear in sharing his or her
expectations of the other party.
But after that information is exchanged and everybody likes what
they’ve heard, is that the end of the interview? “You’re hired. When
can you start?” and that’s it?
Usually, that’s the way it happens. I was offered a job one time in as
little as 10 minutes by someone who had never met me or heard of me
before. But is it really a good idea to enter a business relationship
with someone after only talking to him or her for a few minutes? That
seems like a bit of a gamble to me.
After a 10-minute conversation, you don’t know that individual from
Adam, and a week or 10 days later, you have three or four butchered
messes to clean up and you’re short of help again because you fired the
person.
Invest the Time
I’ve seen a growing number of shop owners/managers reduce the
likelihood of a situation like that happening by investing more time in
the interview process. Some prospects are following suit, as well.
After receiving a job offer, I’ve often told interviewers that I wanted
to come back to talk more before making a final decision. The bottom
line is that it’s important to both parties entering an
employer/employee business relationship to take enough time to learn as
much as possible about the other person.
If you interview a potential employee and you like his or her
qualifications and experience, show the applicant around your shop.
Discuss your compensation package. Keep the conversation strictly
business. But don’t make a decision to hire but urge the applicant to
think things over thoroughly.
An interview in which qualifications, experience, various expectations,
etc., are negotiated and agreed upon would make a good initial
interview, but leave it at that for now. If both parties are impressed,
schedule another meeting.
While multiple meetings are time consuming, they can save both the
employer and the employee a lot of lost time in the long run. After
all, how many tire dealers have wasted months on the tech or service
writer or salesperson who interviewed well but turned out to be far
more troublesome than they were worth? And how many employees have left
jobs after just a few months simply because the initial impression
didn’t match the reality? Many people can “talk the talk” for 15 to 20
minutes, but it takes time to figure out who walks the walk.
If you schedule a second meeting, both parties should agree to a
meeting time of an hour or more. The second meeting works best after
hours when interruptions are less frequent. You might want to walk
through the shop again and discuss more details about day-to-day
procedures and how things are generally done in the shop.
Look at some of the wrecks in the shop and discuss the various steps in
the repair process to help determine whether or not you’re both on the
same page. Look over the tire, hardware and materials supply. Does the
store stock an adequate supply of products and materials that a skilled
tech is familiar with and can use to perform repair procedures
proficiently?
If the interview is for a potential back office or showroom or field
sales position, give careful consideration to that work environment, as
well. Is your office a comfortable place for staff to be when they’re
helping your customers? Do you have a dry, well-lit area where one can
write estimates on rainy days? Is there a specific dress code in your
dealership? What are a salesperson’s responsibilities?
Again, both parties should discuss as many details as possible to help
determine long-term compatibility. Ask plenty of questions, but pay
close attention to the answers. Ask for clarification of any gray areas.
If the meeting is immediately after hours, the potential employee could
take the opportunity to arrive a few minutes early and meet some of the
people who work at your business. In this relatively high turnover
trade, many techs and office staff may have worked together in other
places.
The second meeting is also a good time to discuss whatever type of
employee handbook your dealership has. If you own or operate a business
and don’t have a printed list of rules, requirements, expectations,
benefits, holidays, etc., you’re probably overdue to write one. And it
may be in the best interest of any applicant to request the handbook
and postpone their acceptance of the job until they read it. If the
general details that apply to all employees are in print, there’s less
room for errors in policy. Plus, the potential employee can better
determine whether the atmosphere is one in which he or she can work in
for the long-term.
Got Skills?
Employers might even want to consider including a skills test. Is it
wise to take a tech’s word that he or she knows how to weld, or should
you inspect a few of their welds before you hire them? Can they operate
your tire changers and balancers? Do they know their way around your
alignment equipment?
In many cases, a skills test may even be a strong determining factor in your decision to hire or pass on a potential employee.
Another thing employers may want to consider (though I haven’t found
this to be common practice) is to put every job offer in writing. If
you decide to offer the position to an applicant, it would be in the
best interest of both parties to put certain details of the offer in
writing. A written employment agreement protects both parties by
reducing or eliminating misunderstandings that may arise later. The
more detailed an initial employment agreement is, the more protection
it can offer against future misunderstandings.
More than just a wage offer in writing, an initial employment agreement
should cover some of the issues outlined in the employee handbook.
Certain expectations of both parties should be outlined in the initial
agreement, thus clarifying what each party can expect to give to as
well as receive from the proposed business relationship.
Same Ol’ Standards Apply
In addition to thoroughly communicating qualifications and expectations
at the job interview, what else can each party involved do to improve
the process for best results?
Obviously, the same old standards apply: Show up on time with a
reasonably neat appearance and positive attitude, sit up straight and
look ‘em in the eye. Make a good first impression and follow up in a
few days. That’s all a given, isn’t it? And it certainly applies to
both parties.
How many people go job hunting with printed copies of a current resume
in hand? Like the employee handbook or initial employment agreement
mentioned earlier, a well-written resume can outline your experience,
skills and previous employment history.
In about four to six business days, it’s not a bad idea for a potential
employee to follow up and touch base with a dealer, which demonstrates
a serious interest in the position they are seeking with the company.
Likewise, it’s a good idea for business owners to follow up, even if
just to inform the applicant of the receipt of the application and/or
resume. You may be out of the office when the applicant comes by, in
which case he or she may leave an application and/or resume with your
receptionist. Business has been slow lately, so you don’t bother to
make contact. But the potential hire finds it easy to conclude that
you’re not interested, even though you might be very interested in the
future.
Even if you aren’t interested in hiring someone, a policy of notifying
the folks you reject is an all-too-uncommon courtesy as well as a
strong display of professionalism. If you’re business was their first
choice in the job hunt, please don’t leave them hanging, especially if
they are keeping another shop hanging until they hear from you.
And the same goes for employees. They should notify the other
businesses they applied to when they accept a job. They might leave
somebody else jobless a little while longer because they didn’t
communicate.
Shop Owners vs. Employees
It seems like everybody complains about the other side. A lot of
dealers say it’s hard to find good employees. A lot of employees say
there aren’t enough good shops. Can we all contribute to a reduction in
disgruntled employers and employees? Can we reduce the turnover rate
that the majority of this industry experiences by spending more time on
the interview process?
Certainly we can’t expect to eliminate the turnover, but the more you
know about the person with whom you’re about to enter a business
relationship, the less likely it is that you’ll be looking for another
one in a year or two.
Think about it. You don’t choose a spouse or significant other after a
10-minute conversation and expect the relationship to last for years,
do you? Why would you enter a business relationship in which you spend
at least a third of your weekday life with someone you’ve known less
than a day and then expect that relationship to last? How can two
parties enter any serious relationship of any kind and expect it to be
mutually beneficial for the long term when both parties know precious
little about the other?
Let’s slow down and get to know each other a little better before
committing our weekdays to one another. We’ll all be happier in the
long run.